Outstanding golfer looks forward to Taiwanese corporate sponsorship

2010/04/18 18:52:13

Taipei, April 18 (CNA) The father of one of the world'stop-ranking golfers, Yani Tseng of Taiwan, said Sunday his daughteris eager to gain the sponsorship of local companies.

Tseng Mao-hsin made the remarks while confirming that the HuabinGroup in china has offered to sign a long-term sponsorship contractwith his daughter, who vaulted into second place in the women's worldgolf rankings after she won the Kraft Nabisco Championship earlierthis month.

The local Chinese-language daily China Times reported Sunday thatthe Huabin Group intends to sign a five-year, US$25 millionsponsorship contract with the 21-year-old Taiwanese golfer.

Responding to the report, Tseng Mao-hsin said that as a Taiwanesecitizen, his daughter would prefer to collaborate with Taiwanesebusiness groups, but regrettably none of them have stepped forward sofar.

Regarding the Huabin offer, Tseng Mao-hsin said the two sides arestill discussing the details of the contract.

"We are not sure whether a sponsorship contract will eventuallybe signed, as we have not yet come to terms on certain details, " hesaid.

To be honest, Tseng Mao-shin, said the Huabin Group's offer isfar from attractive because the contract will not cover Tseng Yani'stravel costs to participate in LPGA tournaments.

"As a matter of fact, LPGA tours comprise the largest chunk ofYani's annual expenses... therefore, the Huabin offer is less thanattractive in real terms," he said.

Another aspect that has to be considered is Huabin's demand thatYani Tseng terminate all other contracts with her existing sponsorsof golf clubs, sunglasses, sportswear and relevant sports gear onceshe signs a deal with Huabin, her father said.

Apart from Huabin, he said, several brokerage agencies are alsonegotiating sponsorship contracts with his daughter.

Yani Tseng is scheduled to return to Taiwan April 25 when varioussponsorship contract issues will be further discussed, he said.Aside from soaring up the world rankings, Yani Tseng catapulted tothe top of other major lists by winning the April 4 Kraft NabiscoChampionship in Rancho Mirage, California, the first major tournamentof the season. Her US$300,000 first prize made her the leading prizemoney winner on the LPGA Tour after its first four events of theyear.

The Huabin Group was founded by Yen Bin, a Thai-Chinesebusinessman. Over the past decades, the group has grown into amultinational enterprise in four major sectors, including consumergoods, modern service industries, sports, arts and culture andfinancial services and investments. The group has offices in manycountries around the world.

Yen Bin ranks 10th on the Hurun Rich List, an annual list of the100 wealthiest people in China.